Upgrading old notebook (15-rt131wm)

[PENicholson]

My wish is to upgrade the installed ram of 4 gb to 8 gb

(I know the type is SODIMM, DDR3, 1333 mhz) Yeh, very old....

I know it only has one onboard slot.

Have not opened the case yet.

Waiting to learn if the memory chip is upgradable or if it's 

hard wired in there EFORE opening it...

Anyone have experience doing this or 

know definitively that it can/cannot be done?

Thanks in advance.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

If this is your notebook, then you can remove the 4 GB memory chip and replace it with an 8 GB memory chip.

HP 15-r131wm Notebook PC Product Specifications | HP® Customer Support

Below is the link to the service manual.

c04409502.pdf (hp.com)

This would be a compatible 8 GB memory chip for your PC...

Memory RAM & SSD Upgrades | hp - compaq | hp 15 series | HP 15-r131wm | Crucial.com

You may also want to consider replacing the 2.5" mechanical hard drive with a better performing 2.5" solid state drive (SSD).

[PENicholson]

Awesome!
Great reply and quick too.

Many thanks.

My only question now is - the procedure in changing HD to SSD

Certainly I will be able to find guides online

Just hoping all 2.5 in SSD drives are similar

I am excited about breathing new life into tis old machine

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

You're very welcome.

The procedure to remove and replace the memory and hard drive can be found in the service manual.

This SSD provides the best performance for the price, IMHO.

Amazon.com: Western Digital 500GB WD Blue 3D NAND Internal PC SSD - SATA III 6 Gb/s, 2.5"/7mm, Up to...

You have two options for how to install the operating system on the SSD.

1. Clone your existing hard drive contents to the SSD.

You can do this with free software such as Macrium Reflect.

Macrium Software | Reflect Free Edition

Under the Backup at Home section on the left side of the page.

Then you would need to buy a SATA to USB adapter like this...

Amazon.com: SATA to USB Cable, Benfei USB 3.0 to SATA III Hard Driver Adapter Compatible for 2.5 inc...

Plug one end into the new SSD and the other end into your PC's USB port.

Run the Macrium software and clone the existing drive's contents to the SSD.

Shut down the PC and replace the drive and memory.

The second way is to clean install W10 on the SSD by making bootable installation media with the media creation tool from the link below.

Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com)

If you are asked to enter a product key during the installation process, select the 'I don't have a product key' option.

After W10 has completed installing, you can install the drivers and available software from your notebook's support page.

HP Notebook - 15-r131wm (ENERGY STAR) Software and Driver Downloads | HP® Customer Support

[PENicholson]

Awesome.

Yep I've downloaded Macrium Reflect and it's on the laptop nw awaiting the parts.

Looks fairly straight forward. I saved these messages to refer back to, as well as 

bookmarking the step by step instructions found online..

So anxious to do this now  🙂

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hopefully, everything will go smoothly.

Please post back and let us know how your notebook's drive and memory upgrade project went.

[PENicholson]

I shall.  Supplies ordered, should arrive by July 16. Possibly sooner.

Expecting a smooth transition.

Just for kicks I did a stopwatch test of cold bootup

One minute and 7 seconds.

Certainly the upgrades will change that.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Yes,  I would imagine that the upgrades should cut the boot time by at least 50%.

[PENicholson]

Well, I got as far as getting all of the screws off (even the hidden ones) but can go no further.  This black plastic machine does not allow me to get into it the way many youtube videos show. 

The bottom and keyboard section appear to be one solid piece.

[PENicholson]

Pushed a little further by following this vieo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYSCixzCGyg

And every visible screw is out...

Used flashlight and magnifying glass

All are removed

Keyboard section and bottom are still not totally separating

Some portion of the center section is holding them together

If I pry hard enough they may come apart

in pieces

which I don't want

I have the new memory chip and SSD drive ready to go in but I'm stuck

Help..?